The present invention relates basically to the field of bulldozer blades and more particularly to such blades that are adjustable or hinged in order to adapt the blades to different working requirements.
It is generally always difficult and extremely time consuming to remove and replace bulldozer blades, particularly since they are much too heavy for manual handling. The blades must be changed when the bulldozer is to be used for purposes other than that for which the present blade was designed. Separate blades must be used for pushing material forward of the bulldozer, dividing material, or scraping material to one side or another. It is time consuming to change blades and expensive to keep a ready supply of different blades on hand. As a result, work is often scheduled in an inefficient manner and it is not unusual that the operator will be required to utilize a single blade for all the functions described above. This results in inefficient use of the bulldozer and consequently increases the cost of operation.
It is obviously desirable to obtain some form of bulldozer blade that is adjustable to enable the blade to function efficiently in performing several separate operations that would ordinarily require differing types of blades. The present invention was designed with that thought in mind. As will be understood from the following description, I have invented an adjustable, hinged bulldozer blade that can be selectively adjusted to facilitate efficient operation of the blade to perform all the functions described above.
My blade is designed to be easily adapted to conventional blade mounting arrangements and further includes integral jack assemblies that may be connected to the bulldozer's hydraulic fluid supply to enable selective adjustment of the blade without requiring additional attachments to the bulldozer. The blade is comprised of an elongated central body section and includes opposed outward blade sections hinged to the opposite ends of the body. The sections may be pivoted about vertical axes independently of one another to facilitate positioning of the blade sections in any of several combined configurations. Thus, without leaving the operator's seat, the bulldozer operator may quickly change the blade configuration to accomplish different purposes in a matter of seconds. No device is known to the applicant that accomplishes this function.